The Marked People

Allied

Indigo

"I don't think you realised how much trouble you've been." Aron says while pouring himself a drink, swirling it in his glass before throwing the contents back, grimacing as he swallows.

It seems that when Phoenix had been pronounced dead Aron had inherited everything he owned, including the house which had the glass cube specially designed to hold me.

Instead of having furniture the cube is now a small laboratory and I sit in the centre of it, strapped to a metal chair while Aron paces around "The amount of money spent on you was astronomical and then you escape."

"How did you find us anyway?" It's the only thing I want to know, though I have a bad feeling it was because of me.

Aron just smiles " All the elite in our society have trackers inserted under our skin. My family is one of the most powerful, my father had trackers inserted into both Phoenix and I as soon as we were born, you could say he was a little paranoid."

I feel myself go cold "So Phoenix knew the whole time we were being tracked."

Aron shakes his head "Nix doesn't know half as much as he thinks he does. While you held my brother captive, my father died." I look at his markings, expecting them to change purple from grief but they remain a steady blue. Obviously there wasn't much love between them. Aron doesn't seem to notice my stare though and continues "With Phoenix presumed dead everything belonging to Phoenix and our father became mine, including the information that Nix and I both carried trackers in our bodies."

I give Aron a hateful glare. It's one thing to use humans as slaves but to let your own kin be kept prisoner by his enemies is somehow worse. For all he knows we could have killed his brother, though I suppose considering he was about to do the same we'd have been doing him a favour.

I won't lie, I can be cold but compared to Aron, someone who turns their back on family, I look like a fluffy bunny.

"But what about that tracker that came after us? If Phoenix could be followed why not pick us up then?" I can still remember the fear I'd felt as I'd dug into the ground tearing my fingernails while digging down to the freezing water.

He tilts his empty glass towards me "Yes well originally I'd planned to pick you up but after some reconsideration I thought it best if I wait until you led me to your base, though I will a admit it was very amusing to watch you squirm around in that mud hole."

 Aron sighs while giving me a smile "You may have been a pain but if it  hadn't been for you I would have never gotten the company, so I suppose I should thank you for that."

I plaster a fake smile on "How about you thank me by undoing these straps."

Aron half smiles "I think not. See I don't think you understand just how valuable you are. We could sell you to a hundred different people for different reasons. Your increased healing ability means you can survive numerous births of our people. Any hospital would jump at the chance of paying a little extra for a vessel if it means being able to reuse the vessel, you'd be cost efficient for them."

He walks behind me moving out of view before rounding back around while saying "Of course with your increased strength and resilience you would be perfect in farms, at least doubling the production rate maybe even tripling it. "

"Seems like I'll be having a busy career." I spit out jerking against my restraints.

Aron leans against one of the benches that now line the glass room "No, see you are different. You have the honour of being our first modified human. From you, generations of humans genetically modified for specific reasons will come. And at the forefront of it shall be my company opening up a new market that we will dominate."